Toaster and control therefor



Dec. 1, 1942.

L. J. KOCI TOAS'I'ER AND CONTROL THEREFOR 4 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 Filed July 21., 1937 TOASTE'R AND CONTRCL THEREFOR Filed July 21, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 1, 41- Hm. 2 303,561

TOASTER AND CONTROL THEREFOR Filed July 21, 1937 j 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 j My.

Dec. 1, 1942. J. Kocl TOASTER AND CONTROL THEREFOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 21, 1937 Patented Dec. 1, 1942 2,303,561 TOASTER AND CONTROL THEREFOR Ludvik J. Koci, Chicago, 111.,

assignor to Chicago Flexible Shaft Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 21, 1937, Serial No. 154,759 7 Claims. (Cl. 219-19) This invention relates to electrical heating devices and more particularly to a toaster or the like having improved means for controlling the toasting operations.

An important object of the invention is the pro- "vision of a cooking device having a control mechanism of novel characteristics. 4

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cooking device having thermally responsive means for terminating the cooking operations, wherein the time required to heat and cool the thermally responsive means one or more times is taken as a measure of the cooking time.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cooking device having improved switch means and improved means for actuating the switch from a thennally responsive member.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2 are side and end views, respectively, of a toaster embodying my invention;

Fig. 3 is .a longitudinal section through the toaster;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the lower part of the toaster;

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the lower part of the toaster showing the bread racks and the means for actuating the same, some of the parts being broken away to show the switch mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section through the thermostat frame showing the means for varying and adjusting the tension on the bimetal blade;

Fig. 10 is a section similar to Fig. 8 showing the parts in moved position;

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are fragmentary views of the switch latch mechanism, and

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary view showing a modified torm of the invention having secondary thermostat means. v

This is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 39,957, filed September 10, 1935, entitled Toaster and the like. The invention contemplates a toaster of the same general class, and reference is made to said application for more detailed description of the general structure of the toaster; The toaster has a casing designated generally by the numeral l6 provided sertion of slices of bread to rest on bread carriers I8 and I!) (Fig. 6) between toasting elements 2|,

22 and 23. The casing I6 is carried on a base member 24, in this instance of synthetic resin, such as Bakelite, having a reinforcing plate 25. Handles 26 and 21 are positioned on the ends of the casing, the handle 26 being movable between the full and dotted line positions shown in Fig.3 for the purpose of inserting and removing the bread, as will presently more fully appear. A lense or similar device 28 is inserted in the side of the casing and serves with a coil 30 to indicate the operative condition of the toasting mechanism. The heating elements 2| to 23, inclusive,

are carried on frame members 29 and 3| supported at their lower ends in the plate and at their upper ends by means of a pair of rods at each end of the toaster designated by the numerals 32 and 33 (Fig. 3). The toast racks I8 and I9 are supported on a carrier 34, which in turn is slidably supported on the rods 32, as best shown in Fig. 4 for movement with the handle 26 between the full line and dotted line positions of Fig. 3.

Attached to the frame member 28 is a switch lever 35 having a spring arranged to urge the lower end of the lever outwardly away from the plate 29. The lever has acam surfac 36 adapted for engagement by a roller 31 positioned on the carrier 34 the cam and roller normally serving to maintain the carrier and the toast racks in the upper position. A latch member 38 having an outwardly projecting leg 33, and a leg 4|.

extending longitudinally of the switch lever, is

pivotally positioned on the lever, a spring 42 urg-' ing the leg 4| against a shoulder 43 of the lever. When the rack 34 is moved downward, the roller 31 engages the upper surface of the leg'39 urging the switch lever into the position shown in Fig. 8'. The pawl 38 rotates in a clockwise direction, facing Fig. 5, to permit the carrier 34 to be moved to the upper position without disturbing the position of the switch lever. Spring pressed contacts and are carried on the switch lever 35 near the lower end thereof and are insulated therefrom by insulation 46, the contacts being interconnected as shown in Fig. 7. These contacts are so spaced that thecontact 44 engages a se ment 41 positioned on the frame member 29 when the switch lever is moved to the position shown in Fig. 8. Likewise, the contact 45 is positioned to engage either a segment 48 when the switch lever occupies its innermost position as shown in with spaced slots n on its upper Side for t 1 Fig. 8, or a segment 49 when the switch lever occupies an intermediate position as shown in Fig. 10.

A thermostat frame member having upstanding end pieces 5| and 52 and an intermediate portion 58 is positioned at the bottom of the toaster below the central toasting element 22, as best shown in Fig. 6. The intermediate portion 58 has a centrally disposed recess 54 within which is positioned a coiled spring 55 attached through a screw 58 to a vertically disposed spring member 51 carried on the upper end of the end piece 5| and one arm of a bell crank lever 58, the opposite arm of the lever 58 bearing against a cam 59 secured to a pin 6| carried in the end piece 52, which pin also carries a hand 52 positioned on the outer surface of the casing IS. A bimetal or similar thermostat metal strip 68 has one end seated in a groove 64 adjacent the end piece 52 and the opposite end thereof seated in a groove 85 in the spring member 51, as best shown in Fig. 9. Through rotation of the hand 82 the tension on the bimetal strip 58 can be varied, thereby varying the temperature at which the strip will snap downward toward the intermediate portion 58. A finger 66 attached to the intermediate portion 58 serves to limit the upward position or the strip 63, whereas a screw 81 serves to limit the lowermost, heated, or secondary position of the blade 53.

Articulated on one side of the intermediate portion 58 is a lever 88 adapted to act as a latch for the switch lever 85. The latch lever 68 has a pair of fingers 69 and II projecting inwardly over the intermediate portion 58 on opposite sides of the strip 88 in such manner that the latch lever will be rotated in response to movement of the bimetal strip in either direction between the stops 88 and 51. The latch lever 68 is carrled on the intermediate portion 58 through a screw 12, the screw passing loosely through the lever so as to permit 01' acertain amount of sidewise movement or the lever, and a spring I8 acts between the screw and the lever to normally urge the fingers 59 and Ii inward and the opposed end 14 of the lever outward from the plane of the portion 58, but to permit of lateral movement of the lever. The end 14 of the latch lever 88 cooperates with the lower end of the switch lever 85 in the manner shown in Figs. 11 to 13 to control the movement of the switch lever.

Referring to Figs. 11 to 13, Fig. 11 shows the position of the parts conforming to Fig. 3 with the switch lever 85 occupying its outward position. when the handle 28 is depressed to the dotted line position of Fig. 3, the roller 81 engages the arm 88, moving the switch lever 85 to the position shown in Fig. 8. During this movement, the lower end of the switch lever moves longitudinally of the latch lever 88 into the position shown in Fig. 12. The lower end of the switch lever is notched, as shown at I5, to provide a shoulder 18 behind which a finger "on the latch lever is adapted to engage. A

cam element 18 serves to move the latch lever 88 laterally upon engaging movement of the switch lever, as will be apparent from-Fig. 12. In this position of the switch lever the contact 44 engages the segment 41 and the contact 45 engages the segment 48, as a result of whichthe electrical circuit through the toasting elements 2i, 22 and 28 disclosed, and likewise through a secondary heating element I8 positioned within a shield 8i above the thermostat strip 88. The secondary heating element 18 serves to heat the thermostat strip 88 in proportion to the heat applied to the bread slices by the toasting elements, and when the thermostat strip reaches a predetermined temperature as determined by the position of the pointer 62 and the consequent compression on the thermostat strip, the latter moves, in this particular instance, with a snap action from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 10. During this movement, the strip engages the finger 1i rotating the latch lever 88 in a counterclockwise direction facing Figs. 3, 8 and 10 to 13. This raises the end 14 of the latch lever 88 to a point at which the finger ll clears the shoulder 15, whereupon the switch lever 85 moves to the position shown in Fig. 10 under the force of the spring 88, the switch lever being stopped in this position by engagement of the finger 11 against a shoulder 82 on the switch lever, as shown in Fig. 13. In this position the contact 44 continues to engage the segment 41, but the contact 45 is moved out o! engagement with the segment 48 and into engagement with the segment 48. As will be-seen from Fig. 7, this deenergizes the secondary heating element I8, whereupon the thermostatic strip 88 begins to cool under the influence of air passing upward through the toaster and entering through openings 88 in the bottom or the toaster casing. When the thermostat strip has cooled to a certain predetermined lower temperature as determined by the position of the adjustable stop member 61, it snaps back to its original position, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, during which movement it engages the finger 58 on the latch lever 88, rotating the lever in a clockwise direction. which movement moves the finger ll downward out of engagement with the shoulder 82 and permits the switch lever 85 to move from the position shown in Fig. 10 back to the position shown in Fig. 3 with the contacts 44 and 45 free of any of the segments, thus opening the switch through I 'the toasting elements and deenergizing the toaster.

In order to permit the toaster to be manually operated, I have provided a bell crank lever 84 having an arm adapted to engage the end 14 or the latch lever 88, the opposite arm 88 of the lever having a rod 81 projecting upward there-v from, the upper end of the rod being bent as shown at 88 so that the carrier 84 will engage the bent upper end 88 at the uppermost position of the carrier and rotate the bell crank lever 84, thereby moving the end 14 oi! the latch lever 88 laterally so as to release the finger 11 from the shoulder 18 and permit the switch lever 85 to pass directly from the position shown in Figs. 8 and 12 to the position shown in Figs, 3 and 11.

The cycle or operation or the toaster is as follows: Assuming the parts occupy their normal rest position, as shown in Fig. 3, slices of bread are inserted through the openings l'l onto the .bread carriers l8 and i9. The handle 28 is then depressed to the dotted line position during which movement the roller 81 engages the latch arm 89, moving'the switch lever 85 to the position shown in Fig. 8 with the contact 44 engaging the segment 41 and the contact 45 engaging the segment 48, the switch lever 85 and the latch of heat to the bread slices and the concurrent. heating of the thermostat strip 88, the latter willsnap to the position shown in Fig. 10, releasing the finger H from the shoulder 16 and permitting the switch lever 35 to move to the position shown in Fig. 13. Simultaneously the contact 45 moves onto the segment 49 and off the segment 48, thus deenergizing the secondary heating element '19. The thermostatic strip then cools and subsequently snaps back to the position shown in Figs. 8 and 9, rotating the latch lever 68 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 11, thus releasing the finger 11 from the shoulder 82 and permitting the switch lever 35 to return to the position shown in Fig. 3, thus completing.

the toasting operation. The operator then raises the handle 28 causing the upper ends of the toasted bread slices to project from the top of the casing in a convenient position for their removal. The bread carriers l8 and I9 and handie 26 are held in the upper position by contact of the cam 36 with the roller 31. The toasted bread maybe removed and successive slices of bread inserted into the toaster immediately for a successive toasting operation, since the thermostat strip 63 is returned to its initial position.

In'order to obtain toast of identical color when toasting in rapid succession and starting with a normally cold toaster, the following toasting periods are successively required in arbitrary time units, with the particular toaster construction herein illustrated: 100, 60, 55, 53, 52, 52, etc.

It will be seen that the total toasting period in any of the successive toasting intervals conadjustment of the set screw or stop 61 against which the thermostat strip snaps in its downward movement. For purpose of illustration, we

will assume that the stop 61 is adjusted so that the cooling period wfll be eighteen time units. Therefore, the pointer 62 controlling the tension on the thermostat strip must be set so that the thermostat heating period will be 82 time units in order to obtain a total of 100 time units for the first toasting, assuming the toaster is started from a normal cold condition. With the first thermostat heating period being 82 units, successive thermostat heating periods will be approximately as follows: 82, 41', 3'7, 35, 34, 34', etc. Thus, the total toasting period for the successive toasting intervals will be as follows: 82 plus 18 equals 100; for the second toasting 41 plus 8 equals 59; for the third, 37 plus 18 equals 55; for the fourth, 35 plus 18 equals 53, and for the fifth, sixth, etc., 34 plus 18 equals 52; which results in successive toasting periods of the desired ratio.

While the thermostat cooling period remains approximately constant during successive toastin intervals when conditions remain the same,

some variation is occasioned by fluctuation in the commercial line voltage and by variations in this voltage in difi'erent parts of the country. -In

order to compensate for this variation, I have provided a secondary thermostat strip 89 (Fig. 14) attached to the upper surface of the intermediate portion 53 of the thermostat frame by means of a rivet as shown at 9|, the free end of this strip having an adjustable screw 92 adapted to be substituted for the stop member 61, the

screw being moved in response to temperature by the secondary thermostat strip 89. When employing this construction it would be desirable to set the remainder of the control to produce proper timeintervals at the lower fringe of the commercial voltage range so that increaseof voltage in the commercial supply and consequent greater heating effect in the toaster will'be compensated for by war'page oi the secondary thermostat strip 89 so that with the change in voltage the ther-' mostat cooling periods will remain constant.

While I have thus described and illustrated a specific embodiment of my invention by way of illustration, I am aware that the invention may be embodied in numerous constructions specifically different herefrom but embodying the principles thereof, and I do not wish to be limited except as required by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims, in which I claim:

1. The combination in an electrical cooking device, of heating means for cooking articles in succession to a predetermined degree, thermostat means arranged to be heated proportionalto the heating 'of said articles and adapted to have snap-action movement from an initial position to a secondary'position when heated to a predetermined temperature and to have snap action from said secondary position to said initial position when cooled to a predetermined temperature, secondary heating means for heating said thermostat means, a switch member biased to move from a first position wherein said heating means and said secondary heating means are energized, to a second position wherein only said heating means is energized and to a third position wherein neither heating means is energized, and latch means adapted to latch said switch member successively in said first and second positions, said latch means being responsive to the first mentioned snap-action movement of the thermostat means to release the switch member from said first position and to latch said member in said second position and being responsive to the second mentioned snap-action movement of the thermostat means to release said switch member from second position.

2. The combination in an electrical cooking device of primary heating elements for cooking articles in succession, thermostat means movable between a heating and a cooling position for timing the cooking interval, secondary heating means for heating said thermostat proportional to the heating of said articles, a switch member adapted to move under spring action from a position closing circuit through said primary and secondary heating elements to a position opening circuitthrough the secondary heating element and thence to a position opening both circuits, a latch lever supported for rotation in opposite directions in response to movement of the thermostat to control the movement of said switch member in steps through said successive positions during each cooking interval to time the cooking intervals, an article supporting rack movable between an elevated and a lowered position for the purpose of inserting and removing articles from the toaster, and means for moving said latch lever laterally in response to a prescribed movement of said article supporting rack for movement of said switch member directly from the last to the first mentioned position thereof to manually terminate the toasting intervai.

from a heating position to a cooling position at a predetermined temperature, and to return to the heating position at a lower temperature, stop means positioned to limit the return movement of said strip in the cooling position at a point to produce a substantially uniform cooling time through successive cooking intervals, thermostat means for adjusting the position of said stop means to compensate for variations in the electric power supply to said cooking device, and means responsive to said return movement for terminating the cooking intervals.

4. The combination in an electrical cooking device of heating elements for cooking articles in succession, a thermostat element arranged to be heated proportional to the heating of said articles, means for stressing said element to move with a snap action from a heating position to a cooling position upon the lapse of a heating time varying with successive cooking intervals dependent upon the ambient temperature of the cooking device, means for cooling said element to return the same to the heating position, means responsive to said return movement tor terminating the cooking operation, stop means for predetermining the cooling position of said element to provide a substantially constant cooling period during successive cooking intervals, said stress means and said stop means being proportioned so that the sum of the cooling time and the heating time varies at successive cooking intervals in a predetermined decreasing rate as the cooking device rises in temperature due to successive cooking operations.

5. In a timer, thermally responsive means adapted to build up energy which is utilized for instantaneous release in a snap-action movement when heated at a predetermined high temperature and to subsequently act in a snap-action movement in the opposite direction when cooled to a predetermined lor v temperature, said thermally responsive means including a member operated in said snap-action movements. stop abutments at opposite sides of said member to limit the snap-action movement thereof, controllable means adapted to be actuated by each said snap-action movements, and a second thermally responsive means for actuating one of said stop abutments.

6. A timer as set forth in claim 5, in which the snap-action member of the thermally responsive means is a bi-metallic member, and means for quickly cooling said thermostat member after its snap-action movement as a result of heatin the second thermally responsive member being responsive to the temperature of said quick-cooling means.

7. An electrical device including a primary heater and a thermal timer for controlling the heater in successive predetermined intervals, said thermal timer including a second heater, a bimetallic thermostat strip responsive to the second heater andstressed to build up energy in an initial movement in one-direction when heating and to have snap action in said direction beyond said movement and to build up energy in an initial movement in the opposite direction when cooling and to have snap action in said opposite direction beyond said movement when cooling,

a circuit for said heaters, means for opening and closing the circuit including a switch and movable switch operating means biased to a switch open position and movable to a first closed position in which both heaters are energized and to a second closed position in whichonly the second heater is de-energized, and further movable to said switch open position, latch means for reta g the switch operating means in the first and second switch closed positions, respectively, and means actuated by impact of the thermostat strip in its said snap action movement after heating to thereby release the latch means from said first retaining position and actuated by impact of the thermostat strip in its said opposite snap action movement after cooling to thereby release the latch means from said second retaining position.

LUDVIK J. KOCI. 

